Pompeii Gladius Naming Competition !

[Correus]

Looks good BD. I'm looking at getting some of those, as well as a galea. Who did you say you got your swords from?

[Biggus Dickus]

OK then just carried out a naming ceremony with a bottle of Stinger ale......(river cottage beer!!!) it's made from stinging nettles and is very light...in fact extremely nice.....if any of you can get hold of some I'd recommend it....but on a more serious note....beer and sharp blades don't really mix.....I only had a mouthful!!!!

Blade is named.........."Spiculum"

[paulsmodellingworkshop]

Love it BD! that should scare the chavs off.

[Big Al]

Glass duly raised, BD! An excellent ceremony. Love the photos.

All Hail Sting!

[carvel2]

Cheers!
A great thread!
God bless Spiculum and all who get stung by her!

[Big Al]

Glass duly raised, BD! An excellent ceremony. Love the photos.

All Hail Sting!

That should have been Spiculum

[Centurion Dan]

The last pic is great - a bit like a drunken rock star staggering around waving a sword at the locals

[Biggus Dickus]

The last pic is great - a bit like a drunken rock star staggering around waving a sword at the locals

Dan.....one of my neighbours is a hairdresser...she cuts my silver thatch......we call the cut the "Jaded Rockstar" The sun was quite low so needed the shades to actually see the melon!...They doubled as a safety feature...The possibility of Melon shrapnel was quite high!

Thanks everyone!

Just thinking.......I'm about 2 miles away from Legio II Augusta's HQ when they marched through all the Hillforts in this part of the world....this could be the first time in nearly two thousand years anyone has used a Gladius against a melon around here since those days!!!

Carvel....The Melons took quite a stinging.........I wouldn't rule out prayers completely, but they didn't look well when i put them into bin liner!


Well, it's nice to have inspired some of you to go out and get a gladius for yourselves...just remember to post those pictures!!!
As stated earlier holding something like this in your hand really does make history more tangible.....books are great, museum's too. But having something 3d in front of you, be that a box of 28mm figures or a bit of kit in your hand really illustrates the period of interest like nothing else.
I guess that is why so many of us collect figures...and why some of us like reenactment.....we are all just really fascinated by history, and that is what unites us all on here....and long may it continue.
I guess that concludes this thread......it has been an interesting road, the whole creation process from naming to forging to carving....all honest, hand made stuff in the traditional way, No souless mass production here, everyone that contributed to this Gladius passed on a little something of their soul/being into it, giving it life, a soul ......like those blades of old.
"Hail Spiculum"

[Centurion Dan]

I take it you know a sword smith who built the gladius for you? I've seen a couple of replica ones which I don't think would really stand up to much abuse.
I've seen a modern one on a website that looks pretty nice - even being all black (looks sort of like a special-ops or nightfighting Gladius) but it's out of stock at the moment
Heres a link if anyone's interested - http://www.bladesandbows.co.uk/cold-ste ... 2842-p.asp

I know what you mean about being able to hold something real in your hand and feel a link to history. I've got a Roman ring from the 2nd century - it's tiny and would probably fit a child better but it's a link to the past. Always on the look out for other small bits like this and hopefully will get a display case for them some time.

[Biggus Dickus]

I take it you know a sword smith who built the gladius for you? I've seen a couple of replica ones which I don't think would really stand up to much abuse.
I've seen a modern one on a website that looks pretty nice - even being all black (looks sort of like a special-ops or nightfighting Gladius) but it's out of stock at the moment
Heres a link if anyone's interested - http://www.bladesandbows.co.uk/cold-ste ... 2842-p.asp

I know what you mean about being able to hold something real in your hand and feel a link to history. I've got a Roman ring from the 2nd century - it's tiny and would probably fit a child better but it's a link to the past. Always on the look out for other small bits like this and hopefully will get a display case for them some time.

Hi Dan, yeah here we go.... http://www.swordsmith.net/
That machette looks capable of hacking it's way through the jungle...not really what i was after, I wanted an accurate working copy, you can get mild steel ones made by reenactors in the uk...but you couldn't really use them they are just for display/reenactment.
Great having a little ring, I have a few coins...it is amazing to hold them in your hand, blows my mind really!